The field of medical imaging has seen significant advances since the time X-Rays were first used to determine anatomic abnormalities. Medical imaging hardware has progressed in the form of newer machines such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners, Computed Axial Tomography (CAT) scanners, etc. Because of the large amount of image data generated by such modern medical scanners, there has been and remains a need for developing image processing techniques that can automate some or all of the processes to determine the presence of anatomic abnormalities in scanned medical images.
Digital medical images are constructed using raw image data obtained from a scanner, for example, a CAT scanner, MRI, etc. Digital medical images are typically either a two-dimensional (“2D”) image made of pixel elements or a three-dimensional (“3D”) image made of volume elements (“voxels”). Such 2D or 3D images are processed using medical image recognition techniques to determine the presence of anatomic structures such as cysts, tumors, polyps, etc. Given the amount of image data generated by any given image scan, it is preferable that an automatic technique should point out anatomic features in the selected regions of an image to a doctor for further diagnosis and planning treatment of a disease or medical condition.
Spine stabilization is one of the most common treatment methods for various spinal diseases, such as scoliosis and spondylolisthesis. Pedicle screw fixation plays an important role in spine stabilization surgery. A pedicle is a small bony protuberance that projects from the back of each vertebra and connects the lamina to the vertebral body to form the vertebral arch. There are two pedicles per vertebra, one branching to the left and one branching to the right. Screws inserted into the pedicles provide a means to grip a spinal segment to rigidly stabilize both ventral and dorsal aspects of the spine. Pedicle screws serve as firm anchor points that can be connected with a rod. The screws may be placed at two or three consecutive spine segments and connected with a short rod to prevent motion at the segments that are being fused.
Due to close proximity of the pedicles to the spinal canal and surrounding vessels, misplaced pedicle screws can lead to serious complications. Treatment plans should ensure safe placement of the pedicle screws. Specific treatment plans are typically manually determined by radiologists or physicians. Such manual determination is very time consuming, and may not be reproducible cross-operations.